Excerpt Reveal: Legend by Katy Evans
SEATTLE
Maverick
‘Not in a million years, kid.’
‘NOT INTERESTED.’
‘Get the fuck out of my face!’
Four cities in two days, and more doors
slammed in my face than I can count. I sling my backpack over my
shoulder and scratch another name from my list.
Hopping on to a bus and hopping off
thirty minutes later, I scan the mix of both commercial and apartment
numbers down the block, then knock on my last door.
“Coach Hennesy?”
He’s a tall man, his hair like
pepper, clad in sweats, with a yellow timer hanging from his neck. He
gives me a questioning look.
“I’m your next champion.”
He laughs, but then he must see
something on my face. In my stance. Thirst, resoluteness, guts. Maybe
I’m wearing my balls in my eyes. He falls sober and swings the door
wide-open. “Come on in.”
He doesn’t ask for my name.
I guess with one look, he knows he’ll
find my name in the dictionary, right next to “determined.”
He leads me to his garage. “Where’d
you train before?” he asks.
“Self-taught. I watch videos.”
He scoffs, then shrugs. “Okay, let’s
see what you’ve got.”
I eye the equipment across the room.
The heavy bag hangs from the ceiling, the leather worn from other
fighters before me. There’s a boxing dummy at the corner. Speed
bag. Weights. A whole private gym set up here. I drop both my bags,
then zip open my backpack and start to put on the gloves without
bothering to remove my hoodie.
“Take that off; I need to know what
you’ve got. Need to see your form,” Hennesy says.
I clench my jaw. Slowly unzip my
hoodie. Take it off and glance past my shoulder, shifting to keep my
back from the coach’s view. The guy is clearing the fighting area.
Good. We can get down to business. He walks to me when I face him.
“Give it over.” I hand him my
hoodie and he tosses it aside, then crosses his arms and looks at me.
“Speedball first.”
I inhale, position myself before the
speedball, and hit. Wham.
I keep on hitting, lightning fast, my
fists making the bag fly.
I would have warmed up first, but I’ve
been doing this for days, and I won’t stop until I’ve got myself
a coach—and not even then.
I’ve got momentum now, and I pick up
speed, my arms moving back and forth, working the speed bag until
it’s moving so fast you can’t even see it.
I’m starting to sweat; it’s stuffy
in here, but I can’t stop. I need him to take me on. I need one yes
to get me in the ring. Just one yes and I’ll do the rest.
“Time.” Hennesy stops me. He
signals to the boxing dummy and the heavy bag. “Let’s see you
pound the bag.”
I swing out and slam my knuckles on the
bag, putting everything into my fists. Thack, thump, thud.
Hennesy’s composure starts to crumble
with excitement. “Holy shit, boy!”
I’m getting in to it. I’m in the
zone—where it’s just me, the leather brown bag, my fists, and
nothing else but slamming the spot I’m looking at.
“I’ve seen enough.” He stops the
bag from swinging. His eyes glassy. “Fill this out.”
I pull off my right glove and grab a
pen as he slaps a paper onto a desk at the corner. I bend down to
fill out my name and contact information and realize, too late, that
I exposed the tattoo on my back.
“You’re his boy.”
I freeze midsignature.
A second ticks by. Then two.
I slowly set the pen down and take one
last look at the paper. I might not get to fill it out after all. I
turn.
His face has paled.
I wait it out for a few beats. Maybe
he’s different. Maybe he can deal with it.
He tosses my jacket at me. “Get out.
Nobody wants to see you fight.”
I frown fiercely as I catch my jacket
in my fist and edge forward, equally mad now. “That’s too damn
bad. ’Cause I’m fighting anyway.”
I keep my eyes on him as I pull off my
left glove, shove my arms into my hoodie, and zip up.
I walk out and the door slams behind
me. I clench my jaw, and I shove my gloves into my bag and spot the
old, black gloves inside too. I push them down into the bottom of the
duffel bag and zip it up.
The season starts in a week and a half.
No coach? No fight. I can’t even get into a gym.
But I won’t let anyone or anything
keep me from the ring.
I pick up a penny from the ground.
And I spot a girl in workout clothes
across the street, tying her shoelaces. She’s a step away from the
gym door. I straighten, pull my hoodie over my head, and cross the
street, following after her like I belong.
Meet Maverick “The Avenger” Cage in
Legend, the newest stand alone in the REAL series releasing February
9th!
PRE-ORDER NOW
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Maverick “the Avenger” Cage wants
to rise to the top and become a legend in the ring. Though he keeps
his identity well guarded, he's known on the fighting circuit as the
new kid with a chip on his shoulder and a tattoo on his back that
marks him as trouble. He's got a personal score to settle with the
Underground's one and only Remington "Riptide" Tate.
As Mav trains, he meets a young
girl—the only other new person in the town--and sparks fly. When
things get heated between them, he finds out she's none other than
Reese Dumas, the cousin of Remington Tate’s wife. A girl who's
supposed to root against him and a girl he's supposed to stay away
from.
But Maverick fights for the woman in
his heart, and the monsters in his blood. The world’s eyes are on
them and the victor will go down in history as the ultimate fighting
champion; the ultimate LEGEND.
* LEGEND is the 6th and final
installment of the REAL series, but it can also be read as standalone
or after the three Remington and Brooke books (Real/Mine/Remy.)
Real (Book One) The Real Series
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Mine (Book Two) The Real Series
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Remy (Book Three) The Real Series
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Rogue (Book Four) The Real Series
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Ripped (Book Five) The Real Series
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Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yia714
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Hey! I’m Katy Evans and I love
family, books, life, and love. I’m married with two children and
three dogs and spend my time baking, walking, writing, reading, and
taking care of my family. Thank you for spending your time with me
and picking up my story. I hope you had an amazing time with it, like
I did. If you’d like to know more about books in progress, look me
up on the Internet, I’d love to hear from you!
Website: www.katyevans.net
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatyEvans
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/authorkatyevans
Email: authorkatyevans@gmail.com
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